Scott stood quietly in the kitchen. He watched Deidre cut up oranges after she finished with the pears. He was trying to get a grasp on his current situation; he was married and they had a daughter. Everything he thought he knew was all turned upside down.

"Are you alright?" Deidre asked as she cut up the final orange. "You look like you're off in space somewhere."

"Yeah, I'm fine." He looked around the kitchen and his eyes fell on a bulletin board by the door. It was covered in pictures, but one in particular stood out. It was a family picture. Rachel was standing in front of a Christmas tree with Bear the dog sitting next to her. They were positioned between Scott and Deidre, who each was holding a little girl, around the age of one, with an elf's hat on top of a head of curly hair. Rachel wore a red Christmas sweater and jeans while the two little girls wore red dresses.

Deidre followed his gaze and smiled.

"Who're the other kids in the Christmas picture up there?" Scott asked pointing to the bulletin board.

"Gabby and Tess our twin girls."

“We have twins?” Scott asked.

“Yes we have twins and they just turned two. Life with our girls has been a whirlwind since the beginning. But I wouldn’t change anything…

After over two years of marriage, Scott and Deidre were in a good place. They were happy with their family and their four-year-old daughter. And both were excelling in their careers. Deidre was working her ass off in an effort to be promoted to the head of Seattle Regional’s legal department. Her boss was gearing up to retire and Deidre wanted the job. Once again the Chief was hinting at retirement, and Scott still wanted the job. He was looking for ways to prove to everyone that he was capable of being the Chief of Surgery.

The one thing Scott and Deidre had not discussed in a while was expanding their family. The conversation was pushed to the back burner after they adopted Rachel and now it was second to their careers as well.

Early in September one night Deidre put Rachel to bed and went to her own room where Scott was sitting at the desk looking information up on his laptop. Hearing his wife come into the room, he turned around.

“So who won the battle tonight?” Scott asked inquiring about their daughter’s nightly fight against her scheduled bedtime.

“I won this battle, but the war rages on.” Deidre laughed as she sat down on the bed.

“I’ve been thinking Deidre, we said after a year we’d talk about having a kid. It’s been almost three and we still haven’t had the discussion.” Scott said.

Deidre looked at her husband surprised. “Wow, where did that come from?”

“Here me out, Deidre. We both have siblings and I think we are better people for it. I want her to have a little brother or sister that she can bond with…”

“Scott…”

“Deidre, you are great with Rachel. We are great with Rachel together. And I also think we can share that with another child.”

Deidre looked up from where she was examining her hands. “Do you really think now is the best time for this? We are both working for promotions and trying to take on more responsibilities at work.”

“Deidre.” Scott started.

“I’m not saying no Scott, just not yet.” Deidre said.

Scott, feeling defeated, stood up from the desk. “I’m going to get some air.” He said leaving the room.

Over the next two months, neither Scott nor Deidre brought the topic of children up again.

Halloween arrived and Deidre  was getting Rachel ready to go trick-or-treating with Hannah. It was a tradition that Rachel enjoyed with her aunt. The two would go from house to house then come back home and watch a movie with Scott and Deidre. This year, however, was slightly different. Scott was at a seminar in New York and Deidre had just been called into work to sort out an important legal dilemma the hospital was facing. She was planning on leaving as soon as Hannah arrived.

"Give me a spin Rachel," Deidre instructed having finished putting the little girl together.

Rachel spun around and her skirt puffed up and her hair flew out. "You like it mommy?"

"Yes, Rachel you look like a little pirate."

"Like from the pirate movie?"

"Yes Rachel like from the pirate movie." Deidre stood up quickly. Reaching her full height, she had to grab onto a nearby chair in order to stabilize herself so she would not fall. She felt dizzy and lightheaded.

"Are you okay mommy?" Rachel asked.

"I'm fine Rachel. Why don't you go get your candy bag out of your room before Aunt Hannah gets here?"

Rachel ran up the stairs to her room to retrieve the designated bag. While she was upstairs, the door opened.

"Hello, Aunt Hannah's here."

Deidre stepped into the living room where Hannah had seated herself. "Hey, what are you supposed to be?"

"I am a flying ace," Hannah replied as if it were obvious. She had flight goggles on her face as well as a cap on her head. She sported a tan leather flight jacket and underneath was a white T-Shirt with the ace of spades on it.

"Whatever. Rachel, Aunt Hannah's here," Deidre called. "I sent her upstairs to get her bag. We made it last weekend and she's very excited about it."

"I see. How are you doing Deidre? You really don't look so good."

"Well apparently the hospital cannot make sound legal decisions without a lawyer around. Also the person who is usually on tap to handle these types of situations is on vacation. So naturally, the responsibility falls on me. And I think the flu season started early. I'm probably coming down with something. And on top of all that I think I'm gaining weight, none of my clothes fit right; haven't had time to go to the gym."

"Aunt Hannah! Let's go! I want candy." Rachel said bouncing down the stairs. In one hand she had an old pillowcase decorated with parrots, pirate ships and skull and cross bones.

"Hey kid, you look cool, and your bag is awesome. Did you make me one too?" Hannah asked.

"No. Can we go yet?" Rachel asked.

"I think before we go we might want to take pictures to show your daddy. He won't get to see you in your costume." Hannah said.

"Then we can go?"

"Yes Rachel, then we can go."

Deidre smiled gratefully as she began to take pictures. They made silly faces and then they were ready to go.

"Are you sure you're okay Deidre? You really don't look well."

"Hannah, I'm fine. Go have fun and don't let her eat any candy tonight. We have to inspect it tomorrow."

"Whatever. Come on kid." Hannah rolled her eyes.

"Hey you! Don't you even think about leaving with out giving me a kiss goodbye," Deidre said in mock anger.

"Sorry mommy."

Deidre stooped to Rachel's height, and the little girl wrapped her arms around Deidre's neck. "Okay Rachel, have fun."

"Bye mommy!" Rachel waved as she slipped her hand into Hannah's and they disappeared into the night in search of candy.

After Hannah and Rachel disappeared down the street, Deidre was in her car on the way to the hospital. She knew it would be a long night. Deidre had just finished a write-up about the pressing legal dilemma and was getting ready to leave. She walked out of her office and down the hall. She was about to step onto the elevator when someone called her name. Deidre spun quickly spun around but the action caused her to become dizzy and she lost consciousness.

Deidre opened her eyes confused. She was laying in one of the hospital beds; the last thing she remembered was someone calling her name. She swung her legs around and tried to get up. As soon as she stood she felt lightheaded again. She sat back down on the bed to try and get her bearings.

Deidre looked up when she heard the door open. The short commanding figure of Dr. Marla Healy came into view. She and Deidre still didn't get along very well. Deidre had made a decision regarding one of Dr. Healy’s favorite patients that resulted in the patient’s death. Ever since then, Dr. Healy regarded Deidre as a coldhearted bitch.

"Dr. Healy, what are you doing in here?" Deidre asked annoyed.

"Well every other doctor in the area was busy so that left the task of seeing what's wrong with your ass up to me. Lovely isn't it?"

Deidre rolled her eyes, "I'm fine."

"You passed out on the floor in front of the elevator. I just got your labs back. For someone who's eleven weeks pregnant you're not taking very good care of yourself."

"What do you mean, pregnant?" Deidre asked incredulously.

"You don't know you're pregnant?" Dr. Healy asked the picture becoming clearer to her.

"No. I've been busy; we've been looking at new houses, trying to get Rachel into a private school and working on promotions."

"How do you not notice? You had to realize you were late, at least three months late."

"I chocked it up to stress." Deidre said.

"And your weight gain?"

"I hadn't been able to get to the gym, and it's not that noticeable." Deidre explained.

Marla shook her head. "I take it this was not planned?"

Deidre closed her eyes. "No, not planned. We talked about it and I wanted to wait longer. But definitely not planned.”

No one in the hospital really knew anything about Deidre's personal life. It was common knowledge that she had a daughter, but no one knew the circumstances around Rachel's adoption. Marla began to see the woman sitting before her differently. Who Deidre was at the hospital and who she was at home were two completely different people. And Marla was seeing that fact clearly. "Look, you should probably go home and get some rest. Do you need someone to take you home or do you think you can handle it?"

Deidre began to protest but thought better of it after she saw the look on Marla's face. "I can drive myself home, thank you." Deidre stood up again and was able to successfully walk across the room.

Hannah was sitting in the living room with her feet on the coffee table and a bowl of popcorn in her lap. Rachel was on the floor, leaning against the couch with her own napkin of popcorn. They were watching Flushed Away when the door opened. Hannah looked up and saw Deidre walk through the door.

"You're back late. I thought you were going to be back in time for a mocie?"

"Yeah well, change of plans."

"Hi mommy," Rachel said looking up from the floor with a big smile on her face.

"Did you just completely disregard bedtime Hannah? It's 10:30; Rachel was supposed to be in bed two and a half hours ago."

"I promised her we could watch a movie," Hannah said.

"Are your feet on the coffee table?" Deidre asked.

"No," Hannah quickly removed her feet and Rachel snickered.

Deidre shook her head as she sat next to Hannah on the couch. "Rachel you can watch the end of the movie but as soon as it's over it's bedtime got it?"

"Yes mommy," Rachel said climbing into Deidre's lap.

By the end of the movie Rachel was asleep in Deidre's lap. She picked the sleeping child up and took her upstairs to put her in bed. Deidre tucked in her daughter, smoothed her black curls off of her face and kissed her forehead. She went back down stairs to find Hannah cleaning up.

"So what took you so long?" Hannah asked.

"Another situation came up."

"I don't believe that. You didn't look good when you left, are you better now?"

"I guess you could say that."

"What happened?" Hannah asked sitting back down.

"I passed out on my way out of the building."

"What do you mean passed out?"

"I fainted, and was out for awhile. They wanted to run some tests before they sent me home."

"Do you know what's wrong?" Hannah asked concerned.

Deidre pushed her hair back, "I'm pregnant."

"You're what?"

"My thoughts exactly."

"How far along are you?"

"Eleven weeks apparently."

"Oh, wow." Hannah said.

"Yeah." Deidre said.

"Are you gonna' be alright here by yourself?" Hannah asked getting up.

"Yes, I'll be fine. I'm going to change and go to bed. You go out and have fun. You're young; it's what you're supposed to do." Deidre insisted walking Hannah to the door.

"If you need anything, I can be here in ten minuets." Hannah said hugging her sister-in-law.

"Yeah and you might kill yourself on the way. We'll be fine. Scott gets back in the morning. Thanks for taking Rachel trick-or-treating."

"As always, it was my pleasure. Goodnight Deidre."

"Good night."

The next morning Scott walked into the quiet house while the sun was coming up. He quietly placed his bags in the laundry room and went up the stairs. He stopped first and checked on Rachel. She was wrapped tightly in her comforter with her black unruly curls all over the place. Scott gently moved her hair and gave her a kiss. She stirred lightly and then settled back down.

Next, Scott made his way to the room he shared with Deidre. He slowly pushed the door open, in case she was still sleeping, he did not want to wake her. However, what he found was not a sleeping Deidre. She was sitting on the bed with her laptop in front of her and papers surrounding her. She had a pen in between her lips and her hair was falling on her face as she typed something into the computer. "Morning," Scott said.

Deidre looked up surprised and smiled. "Hey, I thought your flight didn't get back until a little later."

"Yeah well, couldn't wait to see my girls." He put his suitcase by the door.

"Is she up yet?"

"No," Scott said as he made his way over to the bed. "What are you doing?" He asked sitting down.

"Looking at houses.”

"Really, is there a reason you’ve decided to start house hunting?” Scott laughed.

"Our house is too small Deidre said as she moved papers around on the bed.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm…"

"Mommy!" Rachel said as she burst into the room interrupting her parents' conversation. She got even more excited when she saw Scott on the bed. "Daddy's back!" She tackled Scott on the bed and sat on his chest.

"I missed you too Rachel." Scott smiled as he at up. "How was Halloween with Hannah? Did you get a lot of candy?"

"Yeah, but she wouldn't let me eat any." Rachel pouted. "Can we go to IHOP for breakfast?"

Scott looked to Deidre who was still searching the Internet. She looked up when the room got quiet. "What?"

"Rachel wanted to know if we could go to IHOP for breakfast."

"You two can go, I don't feel up to it right now." Deidre said.

Scott shrugged it off and looked at Rachel. "Okay munchkin let's get you dressed and then we can go."

When Scott and Rachel got back from their morning outing, it was two o'clock and time for Rachel's nap. So Scott took her up to her room and tucked her in. When he came back downstairs, he noticed Deidre sitting at the table with the same stack of papers from the morning.

"Hey," he said sitting down next to her.

"How was IHOP?"

"It was good. We went to the park afterwards, and then had lunch and here we are. I put her down for a nap."

"That's good. Deidre, what's going on?"

Her fingers were still but she continued to stare at the screen. Scott opened his mouth to ask the question again. "I'm pregnant Scott, eleven weeks. I got so caught up in everything that I didn't even notice."

Scott was stunned. He was not expecting that. He did not know what he was expecting, but it wasn't that. After their conversation the previous month, he thought a child, at least for the time being, was completely off the table.

"Scott, say something.” Deidre said.

“What do you want me to say? You already know how I feel Deidre. I’m concerned about what you’re thinking.”

“This is supposed to happen later. It’s supposed to happen after my boss retires and when I find out whether or not I got the promotion. Not now.”

Scott gave her a look. He was concerned about what she was planning to do.

Deidre leaned back in her chair and placed her hand on her abdomen. “We have a kid growing in there.” She said looking at her husband.

“Yeah we do.”